Donatus of Besançon, St.
DONATUS OF BESANÇON, ST.
Bishop; d. c. 660. Donatus, descendant of a ducal family, was educated at luxeuil. As bishop of Besançon, he established the famous Saint Paul's Cloister (Palatium ) and gave it a rule drawn from benedict and colum ban. Donatus's mother, Flavia, founded the monastery of Jussa-Moutiers or Saint-Marie, for which Donatus wrote a rule (Regula ad virgines; Patrologia Latina 87:273–98). Donatus assisted at the councils of Clichy (627) and Chalon-sur-Saône (c. 650). He is also mentioned in a charter of Clotaire III (658).
Feast: Aug. 7.
Bibliography: j. mabillon, Acta sanctorum ordinis S. Benedicti (Venice 1733–1740), 2:320–322. Acta Sanctorum Aug. 2: 197–200. jonas, Vita s. Columbani, Patrologia Latina, ed. j. p. migne, 217 v. (Paris 1878–90) 87: 1024. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 1935–1956), 8: 123–124. r. aigrain, Catholicisme 3:1015–17. t. de morembert, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques (Paris 1912–), 14:648–649.
[b. f. scherer]